Disposable hypodermic syringes are widely used in hospitals and other medical facilities to draw body fluids from and to inject medications into patients. These syringes are made disposable because of the difficulties and inefficiencies involved in re-sterilizing syringes for reuse. Because these syringes are intended to be disposed of after use, a problem arises as to their safe post-use storage and disposal and in preventing them from being accidentally reused.
Typically, these syringes are provided with a removable, protective sheath covering the syringe needle. These sheaths are removed before use and often replaced after use for their safe disposal or storage for subsequent medical procedures. For example, once blood has been drawn into a syringe and the syringe extracted from the patient, the needle tip is commonly capped and then placed in ice pending subsequent laboratory examination and analysis of the blood sample. In doing this the protective sheath has commonly been placed over the needle with one hand while holding the syringe with the other hand. This method has been hazardous due to the fact that syringe users sometimes prick or inject themselves by accident when trying to align and insertion the needle into its sheath. Where such occurs there is a possibility that a disease may be transmitted from the patient to the nurse or other medical personnel using the syringe.
Additionally, once a syringe is used it is often impossible to distinguish it from unused, sterile syringes. For this reason immediate disposal of the syringe is recommended. However, due to the possible inaccessibility of proper disposal containers for hazardous medical waste, this may not always be possible. Therefore, accidental reuse of contaminated syringes may occur.
It thus is seen that a need remains for a syringe case with which syringes may be more safely unsheathed, resheathed and stored. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.